Former Milwaukee County deputy sentenced for child porn

A former Milwaukee County sheriff’s deputy has pled guilty in federal court to six counts of possession of child pornography. A judge on Friday handed down a 40 year prison sentence for Phillip Wentzel.

Wentzel was indicted by a grand jury in May for knowingly producing child pornography from 2009 to 2011. Each production included a different underage female. Wentzel posted a profile on a peer-to-peer network seeking “original” images and video of child pornography.

This case, investigated by the FBI and Milwaukee Cyber Crimes Task force with the assistance of the Milwaukee Police Department, was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. The nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse was launched in May 2006, by the U.S. Department of Justice.

After his 40 year prison term, Wentzel will serve an additional 10 years of probation.